The University of California, Irvine (UCI) has developed a new health wearable that is completely battery-free and can monitor patients' vital signs in real-time.
As of right now, the university has only launched a prototype of the new device but based on early trials, it appears the technology is a viable option for gathering key biometric data such as body temperature and blood pressure. Of course, what differentiates this device from mainstream wearables is that it does not require a battery or external power source to operate. Instead, the device can be powered in two main ways: through a connected device or, more interestingly, via finger tapping.
"Imagine you’re out working in a remote location — anywhere, the desert on a mission, in the mountains hiking, or even a space station, for example — and you need to keep track of your health information on demand, or there’s an incident, and you need to monitor someone’s vital signs urgently and accurately…This self-powered and wireless device allows you to do that," said UCI researcher Rahim Esfandyar-Pour
Battery-Free Health Wearables
UCI Debuts a New Health Tracker That is Powered by Finger Tapping
Trend Themes
1. Battery-free Wearable Monitors - Opportunities for developing new battery-free wearable health monitors that can track vital signs and biometric data in real-time and that have remote access capabilities.
2. Kinetic-powered Health Trackers - Opportunities for developing health trackers and wearables that can be powered by kinetic energy, such as finger tapping, eliminating the need for batteries and allowing for greater portability and mobility.
3. Real-time Biometric Data Collection - Opportunities for developing wearable devices that can monitor and gather real-time biometric data, even in remote locations and challenging environments, and that can transmit this data wirelessly for remote access and analysis.
Industry Implications
1. Wearable Technology - Opportunities for developing and innovating new wearable technologies and devices that can collect and transmit vital sign and biometric data with greater accuracy, convenience, and portability.
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